


finally see what it means to be living

by couldaughter



Category: Captain Marvel (2019)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Post-Canon, Spoilers!!! Obviously, they are a family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-11-14 02:24:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18043679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/couldaughter/pseuds/couldaughter
Summary: Carol landed outside the school building with about thirty seconds to spare.“Sorry,” she said quietly, patting the minivan she’d just crash landed on. The bonnet looked like an empty Ruffles bag. “I’ll fix you up in a couple hours, alright?”





	finally see what it means to be living

Carol landed outside the school building with about thirty seconds to spare.

“Sorry,” she said quietly, patting the minivan she’d just crash landed on. The bonnet looked like an empty Ruffles bag. “I’ll fix you up in a couple hours, alright?”

Thankfully, being so close to being late, there was no audience around to see Carol throwing on a flannel and jacket over her armour.

The double doors to the foyer were open, thankfully, and Carol managed to contain the spark calling out to the metal of the door handle as she waltzed through, head high and confident. Maria had told her to act like she owned the place, just in case.

“Uh, excuse me, ma’am?”

Carol turned on her heel and grinned at the guy manning the trestle table at the entrance. It was covered in sign-in sheets, name badges, and maps. “Hi there,” she said, and leaned one hand on the edge of the table. The metal border bent slightly where her fingers curled in towards her palm.

“You, uh, you need to sign in. Can’t let just anybody in, haha, you know how it is.” The guy actually _said_ ‘ha ha’. Carol wasn’t even trying to be intimidating, honestly. Maria would probably be mad if she got banned from a middle school in her early forties. Carol thought that was kind of the best version of living, but she also liked sleeping in a bed and not on the couch.

“Sure thing,” she said, laying on an adopted southern drawl just for his benefit. “I’m Carol Rambeau. Here for Monica?”

The surname was technically legal, but not in anywhere near all 50 states.

The desk guy made a show of searching the list, but Carol already knew she wouldn’t be on it. She tapped a finger under his nose. “Look, I’m kind of surprising her.” She leaned in, deliberately lowering her shoulder until the air force patch was right in his eye line. “Just got back from deployment.”

His eyes widened. Carol could almost see the light-bulb going off over his head.

He winked. “Sure thing, Miss Rambeau. You head on in - here’s your name tag.”

Carol winked back, and put a finger to her lips. It paid to be careful in her line of work. No paper trail.

There were a couple signs lining the hallway, pointing towards different grade levels and extra curricular ad stands, but Carol already knew where she was headed. It was pretty easy to tell where a Rambeau was, for her - she’d had a few decades of practice. All you had to do was follow the trail of destruction.

Of course, Maria said the same thing about her. It was all part of a healthy marriage.

Monica’s classroom was at the end of a long hallway, up a flight of stairs lit by flickering strip lights. Carol sent a spark up at one and smiled as it buzzed its way to full brightness.

There wasn’t much to the school, really. It served a good chunk of farmland and countryside down in the south of Louisiana, but that still only amounted to a couple hundred kids at any one time. Monica was in a class of thirty, which seemed tiny to Carol after six years on Hala, population god only fucking knew how many.

She paused outside the doorway, one foot resting on the threshold. Monica and Maria were facing away from the door, and the teacher was focused on something on her desk. Carol took a moment to drink in the sight of her girls at rest, nothing more to worry about than a report card and a couple of minor fights. There was an empty chair drawn up next to Maria. Carol’s heart ached, just a little.

Carol rapped on the entryway with her knuckles.

She couldn’t stop herself from grinning when Maria turned her head, clearly ready to cuss out whoever dared to interrupt her, and instead stuck on gaping.

“Hey, sweetheart,” she said, taking a step into the room. The legs of her armour were still kinda obvious, but at least the flannel made them look more like a freaky fashion choice than alien innovation. “Long time no see?”

Monica was already out of her chair, of course, and threw herself at Carol, wrapping her arms around her waist and squeezing tight. Carol lifted her up, just because she could, and grinned harder at Monica’s answering squeal.

She nodded a greeting at Monica’s teacher. “Sorry for interrupting,” she offered, putting Monica down and ruffling her hair. “I’m Monica’s, uh…”

“This is Auntie Carol,” said Monica, smile blinding bright. “She’s fighting a _war_ ,” she whispered, leaning closer to her teacher, and then leaned back and winked at Carol.

Carol sighed. God _damn_ did she love this kid.

“Good to meet you, Carol,” said the teacher, with admirable stoicism. Carol liked her immediately. “We were just finishing up, actually. If you wish to sit in on the last few minutes, you’d be welcome.”

“Thank you kindly,” drawled Carol, affected southern accent back at full strength; she barely smothered a laugh at Maria’s expression. There was nobody, not nobody, who could beat Maria for a level stare.

Her stomach fluttered as she slouched low in the child-size seat beside Maria. They were _so close_ … it had been a long time.

Carol tried not to spend too long at a time out in the universe, soaring through star-fields dismantling Kree power structures and looking damn cool while doing it. Unfortunately, it was very easy to lose track of time out there.

She’d only meant to be gone for a few days, this time around, and ended up out of atmo for more than two months.

It always felt like longer.

She tuned out of the actual conference part of the parent-teacher conference - she was only here to surprise her family, after all. Monica was doing just fine in school, anyway, Carol knew. Monica kept her updated on all the latest gossip she and her thirteen year old posse were involved in, and let Carol help her with her science homework, and generally acted like a pretty well adjusted kid.

The meeting was over almost before Carol realised it, honestly. It felt like one moment she was glancing across at Maria, smiling at the way her focus took over her whole body, leaning forward and eyes narrowed, and the next the teacher was packing up and Maria was tugging her up out of her chair, rough fingers clasped around hers.

They walked in silence for a while, hands swinging, fingers tangled. Carol prayed her palms wouldn’t get sweaty.

“Hey, gorgeous,” said Maria with a soft smile. They were almost down to the sidewalk outside the main building. “Nickel for your thoughts?”

“Damn, you’re splashing out,” Carol replied. “I’m really worth that much?”

“That much and more,” said Maria. “You know that, girl.”

Monica made a gagging noise and giggled, already ten feet ahead of them on the way out of the school gates.

“Yeah,” said Carol. She pulled Maria to a stop, in a lamplight pool outside the gates, and leaned in. “I guess I do.”

They got in a good thirty seconds of kissing before Monica made another gagging noise. Maria punched Carol lightly on the shoulder and pulled her back to the car, laughing all the way.

This, thought Carol, is what it’s really all about. The galaxy would always need saving but this - this is what it was worth saving for.

**Author's Note:**

> unbetaed and motivated by INCREDIBLE DEPTH OF FEELING, here is my first of probably multiple fics about these CANON WIVES, THEY ARE WIVES AND MARRIED, NO ONE CAN CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE
> 
> god. sorry. i just saw the movie two hours ago and i'm a goddamn mess about it
> 
> title from iconic lesbian anthem fast car by tracy chapman
> 
> find me on twitter and tumblr @dotsayers


End file.
